ECG-Free Cardiac Imaging Analysis for Heart Cycle Identification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac imaging methods without ECG gating struggle to accurately identify images corresponding to specific cardiac cycles, such as diastole or systole, making it difficult for doctors to diagnose heart conditions, and require patients to hold their breath for extended periods, which can be challenging, especially for patients with arrhythmia or abnormal chest geometry.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that automatically determines target images corresponding to cardiac cycles by analyzing successive images of the heart without ECG gating, using techniques like K-means clustering and machine learning to identify reference images and correlations, allowing for the selection of images that represent cardiac diastole or systole.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If ECG gating is used for cardiac imaging, then cardiac information accuracy is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates due to prolonged breath holding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the ECG gating requirement from the cardiac imaging process. By using retrospective gating methods that analyze cardiac motion directly from the imaging data itself rather than requiring external ECG signals, the system eliminates the need for patients to hold their breath, thereby improving comfort while maintaining diagnostic accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational process that analyzes imaging data to derive cardiac phase information. Instead of relying on ECG signals as a mediator, the system uses image-based motion tracking and correlation algorithms to identify cardiac phases, thereby removing the need for ECG gating while preserving the ability to distinguish between diastole and systole
2Measurement precision
If ECG gating is used for cardiac imaging, then cardiac cycle identification is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the imaging system to self-determine cardiac phases by analyzing its own acquired data. The system uses the imaging data itself to track cardiac motion and identify diastole and systole without requiring external ECG gating hardware or complex synchronization systems, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining identification accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical ECG gating system with a computational image analysis system. By substituting the ECG signal-based approach with image-based motion tracking and correlation algorithms, the system reduces hardware complexity while achieving the same cardiac cycle identification function through software-based methods
3Measurement precision
If manual analysis of successive images is used to identify cardiac phases, then diagnostic accuracy can be maintained, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary automated processing of the successive images to identify and tag cardiac phases before the doctor needs to review them. By pre-processing the image sequences to determine which images correspond to diastole and systole using correlation algorithms and motion tracking, the system reduces the time doctors need to spend on manual analysis while preserving diagnostic accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the imaging data itself to provide the cardiac phase information that would otherwise require manual analysis. By implementing automated algorithms that analyze image sequences and identify cardiac phases independently, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual review while maintaining the accuracy that expert radiologists would achieve
Data Source
AI summary
A method for medical imaging may include obtaining a plurality of successive images of a region of interest (ROI) including at least a portion of an object's heart. The plurality of successive images may be based on imaging data acquired from the ROI by a scanner without electrocardiography (ECG) gating. The plurality of successive images may be related to one or more cardiac cycles of the object's heart. The method may also include automatically determining, in the plurality of successive images, target images that correspond to at least one of the one or more cardiac cycles of the object's heart.